Sweet & Sour Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Sweet & Sour Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Here at Greatist, we believe in taking a day off. Instead of our regular programming Saturdays, our writers get a chance to write about living the greatist lifestyle and, basically, whatever they want. This is one of those awesome articles. Enjoy!

Looking for a healthy dinner for a family or group? These Sweet & Sour Turkey Lettuce Wraps are a fully-contained, filling meal everyone (or most everyone) can enjoy. I'm an especially big fan of tweaking and customizing the spices for a different kick with every batch.

Ingredients (serves 6-7):

THE VEGGIES, all finely diced

4 medium carrots

4 stalks celery

2 red bell peppers, seeded

1 can water chestnuts, drained

1 bunch of scallions (white & green parts)

THE HERBS

3 tablespoons grated/minced fresh ginger

6 cloves garlic, minced

THE MEAT

2 lbs ground turkey breast

SPICE

1/2 tablespoons salt

1/2 tablespoons pepper

FLAVORING

1/3 can of hoisin/plum sauce

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons hot chili paste (or sriracha), go easy

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (seriously)

1 tablespoon chai powder (if available)

1/2 cup unsalted cashews, chopped/crushed

1 bunch of cilantro, minced

THE LETTUCE

2 heads Boston lettuce

Directions:

Coat a large skillet/wok with olive oil spray & pre-heat.

Add carrots, celery, bell peppers, scallions, ginger, and garlic. Saute, stirring occasionally until the vegetables soften slightly. Add a tablespoon of water after about 5 minutes if necessary to prevent scorching. Reapply oil spray if needed, too. Set to simmer as you work with the turkey!

Meanwhile, coat a separate pan with olive oil and add the ground turkey. Cook until no longer pink, using a spoon or other utensil to continually chop into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper, plus add the soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder as it's cooking.

Once the turkey is cooked, drain the pan and add the turkey into the skillet/wok with the veggies.

Increase heat and add the plum/hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, chili paste, chai powder, and the rest of the cocoa powder. Stir to coat and simmer until heated through.

Remove the skillet from the heat (or at least turn it off) and finally stir in the cashews and cilantro, then allow the whole thing to cool for a few minutes.

Then, just rinse the lettuce and break off the individual leaves and serve!